Whistle.



I Httornegs No. 783,208. PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905. A. F. KUHL.

WHISTLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAE. a, 1904.

Inventor Witne ses y tached.

NITED STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT rricn.

WHISTLE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 783,208, dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed March 3,1904. Serial No. 196,409.

"To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT FRANKLIN KUHL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residingv at Van wert, in the county of Van VVert and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Whistle, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to alarm mechanisms of the whistle type, particularly designed for use on railway-cars, automobiles, and other vehicles, and has for its object to provide a simple, durable, and efiicient alarm of this character capable of giving warning of the approach of the vehicle by the production of a note or sound of great carrying power.

A further object of the invention is to provide a whistle operated by a blast of air from a fan mounted on the vehicle-frame and geared in any suitable manner to the motor, axle, or other movable part of the vehicle.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a railway-car, showing a whistle constructed in accordance with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view of the fan-casing. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the fan de- Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the whistle detached. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of aportion of the fan-casing, showing the. arrangement of the dampers. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of one of the bearingbrackets.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The whistle, which may be used in connection with railway-cars, automobiles, and vehicles in general, is shown, by Way of illustration, attached to an electric car 5, driven by a suitable motor 6.

Secured in any suitable manner to the platform 7 of the car is a cylindrical fan-casing 8, the side walls 9 of which are provided with oppositely-disposed central openings 10 and 11, through which air is admitted to the fan 12. The side walls 9 are detachably secured to the central cylindrical part of the casing by means of bolts 13, which engage the threaded outwardly-extendinglugs14 of brackets 15, secured to said walls,so that when the bolts are adjusted the parts will be firmly clamped together. The fan 12 isjournaled in supportingbrackets 16 and 17 secured to the side walls 9 and extending across the openings 10 and 11. as shown, the bracket 16 being provided with a vertically-disposed slot 18 and a pivoted locking-lever 19, which engages the fan-shaft 20 and locks said shaft in the bracket 16. Secured to the end of the shaft 20 is a pulley 21, to which motion is communicated from the motor 6 through the medium of a belt 22. The fan 12 is provided with radial dish-shaped wings or blades 23, which suck the air through the openings 10 and 11 and force the fluidthrough an opening 24 in the top of the fan-casing to an air-conducting pipe or tube 25, which extends vertically of the car and leads to the whistle 26. The amount of air admitted to the fan-casing through the openings 10 and 11 may be regulated by means of dampers 27 and 28, pivoted in any suitable manner to the side walls of the casing, the dampers 28 being provided with longitudinal slots 29 to permit said dampers to be adjusted vertically, so as to clear the supporting-bracket 16. Arranged within the fan-casing and extending across the opening 2 1is an inclined deflector or abut ment 30, which receives the impact of the air and directs the latter through said opening to the ai-rconducting pipe and thence to the whistle. The conducting-pipe is preferably conical in shape, as shown, and extends a short distance above the top of the car to form a support for the whistle 26, said whistle being preferably formed in two sections 31 and 32, the upper section 31 being provided with oppositely-disposed blowing-orifices 33 and the lower section thereof engaging the end of the conducting-pipe 25. The upper section 31 for ms the sounding-chamber of the whistle, the top of which is open, so as to permit the blast of air from the fan to normally escape without sounding the alarm, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. Secured to the section 31 of the whistle is a sleeve or collar 34, the ends of which are extended to form a support 35 for a bracket 36, one end of which is slotted, as indicated at 37 and engages said support, the opposite end of said bracket forming a fulcrum for a pivoted lever 38. A valve 39, formed of rubber or other suitable material, is pivoted to the lever 38, said valve being adapted to close the opening in the top of the section 31 of the whistle when the lever is depressed, to thereby prevent the escape of air and cause the whistle to sound. The lever 38 is normally held in the elevated position by means of a coiled spring 40, interposed between the support 35 and said lever and held from lateral displacement by a pin or rod 41, slidably mounted between the ends of the sleeve 34, as shown. As a means for depressing the lever 38, and thereby sounding the alarm, I provide a cord, chain, or other flexible medium 42, one end of which is fastened to said lever, the opposite end thereof passing through an opening in the top of the car, so as to be within easy reach of the conductor or m'otorman.

In practice the fan being geared to the motor rotates continuously therewith, forcing the air through the conducting-tube 25 and sections 31 and 32 without blowing the whistle. By exerting a slight pull on the cord or chain 42 it depresses the lever 38 and causes the valve 39 to engage the top of the whistle, thereby preventing the escape of air and causing the alarm to sound.

The whistle may be made to emit a series of short intermittent shrieks or a prolonged blast, as desired, dependent upon the length of time the lever is depressed, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In an alarm, a whistle having a soundingchamber the upper end of which is normally open, means for forcing a continuous current of fluid through said chamber, a valve pivoted to the whistle, means for normally holding the valve in elevated position, and means for forcing the valve in engagement with the open end of the sounding-chamber for diverting the current of fluid to thereby sound the alarm.

2. In an alarm, a whistle having asoundingchamber, a fan-casing, a fan revolubly mounted in said casing and provided with radial dished blades for forcing a continuous current of air through the sounding-chamber without aflecting the whistle, a pipe connecting the fan-casing and whistle, and a pivoted springactuated valve for diverting the current of air to thereby permit the sounding of the whistle.

3. A whistle formed of a plurality of telescopic sections the upper one of which is open at the top to permit the continuous passage of a current of air without afl ecting the whistle, and a spring-actuated valve pivoted to the upper telescopic section for closing the opening in the top thereof to thereby permit the sounding of the whistle.

A. In an alarm, the combination with a car and its motor, of a fan driven by the motor, a fan-casing having detachable side Walls provided with centrally-disposed air-inlet openings, pivoted dampers for controlling the admission, of air to the fan-casing, an inclined deflector mounted in said casing, an air-conducting pipe communicating with the interior of the fan-casing, a whistle-tube having oppositely-disposed blowing-orifices carried by the opposite end of the pipe, a sleeve or collar mounted on the whistle-tube, a bracket secured to the collar, a valve pivoted to said bracket, and a spring interposed between the collar and the valve for holding the latter normally out of engagement With the whistletube.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own lhave hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT FRANKLIN KUHL.

l/Vitnesses:

W. C. LAWRENCE, LUKE W. Soorr. 

